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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26464705">Death Knights - Doctrine and History</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyubo_Iv/pseuds/Lyubo_Iv'>Lyubo_Iv</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Warcraft - All Media Types, Warcraft II, Warcraft: Orcs &amp; Humans, World of Warcraft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Acherus: The Ebon Hold, Death Knight, Gen, Undead, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:15:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,743</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26464705</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyubo_Iv/pseuds/Lyubo_Iv</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A forbidden in-depth study of the sordid history and lore of the Death Knights - some of the most feared warriors to have ever walked upon Azeroth. From the forgotten days of the First War, to the fall of the Lich King, numerous previously unheard-of secrets await the reader brave enough to look upon these pages.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Foreword</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Since many of us are currently working from home or stuck in quarantine, it's the perfect time to relax with some good ol' fan fiction! Here is something I've wanted to do for quite some time but rarely had enough time to work on, which is why it took quite longer than expected (more details on that - in the final words after the Epilogue). Yet, at long last, I stand before the complete work. And now you can enjoy it as well.</p><p>So what is this about? The Warcraft universe has a massive amount of underlying lore, so there is a wealth of opportunities for fan fics. I decided to focus on something I've enjoyed in both the old and modern days - Death Knights; first introduced in WarCraft II (1996) and the first hero class in World of Warcraft. Such dark characters always hold a special fascination in games, since they allow us to play the bad guys for a change, to get a taste of how awesome (or difficult) it is to fight the noble heroes that we usually identify ourselves with. One of the things that made the Horde the "cool" faction to play in the old WarCraft games was the fact they had all the "evil" spellcasters - Necrolytes, Warlocks, Ogre-Magi, and Death Knights. Furthermore, Death Knights in WoW were a special thing, set apart from the common classes that start from level 1 and had to slay boars or collect tree bark scraps as their first quests.</p><p>This fan fic begins from the very distant roots of the Death Knight order, back in the First War, and explores their evolution up to an including the events of Wrath of the Lich King.</p><p>Anyway, I don't wish to get carried away with introductions, so let's dive into the darkness already!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong>FOREWORD</strong>
</h3><p>Greetings, honored reader. It is customary for the author of a book to introduce themselves first, but this will not be necessary in this case. My name is irrelevant because I am a monster. Well, not quite like the gnolls, kobolds and trolls, but something even worse – I am a Death Knight. My name stopped having any meaning as soon as my new "unlife" began.</p><p>A long time has passed since we, the Knights of the Ebon Blade, rose up against our former master and reclaimed our freedom. The Alliance and the Horde accepted us, though their distrust still shows behind the feigned politeness and words of support. We did not care about acceptance – all we wanted was to repay our former master for everything he had done to us, and everything he had forced us to do while under his control. Many of my memories from my previous life have faded, but the atrocities I committed while serving the Lich King haunt me every night. I do not harbor any illusions that I could ever make them stop.</p><p>Arthas fell eventually. This event did not bring me the joy or relief that I had anticipated. We only found ourselves without a singular cause to pursue. We were truly free to shape our destinies and wander the world, looking for ways to atone for our past sins. Some of us tried to return home. Though I was welcome to stay in Silvermoon, I could always notice (and even feel) the disgusted and frightful looks of its fair citizens. To them I was not merely an aberration, but a walking reminder of the devastation unleashed by Arthas upon Quel'Thalas during the Third War, the near-extermination of our race, which led us to abandon our legacy and become what we are now. I could not bear to linger in this city for more than a month. I left and headed straight into the Ghostlands, which were still not completely reclaimed. I found my way into Deatholme, now abandoned and silent. I remained there for... I can't really say how long; the days went by unnoticed, as I wallowed in darkness and seclusion. This place was a paradoxical synthesis of my past and present lives, but most importantly – it was a refuge. A place to calm down my raging mind and think. This is how I came up with the idea of writing this compendium – it is both an attempt to better understand what I have become, but also to help the peoples of Azeroth understand us, the Death Knights, better and, hopefully, stop fearing us so much.</p><p>It is a faint hope, but it is worth a try. I traveled to many old Scourge outposts and fortresses, from the festering Plaguelands, all the way to Icecrown Citadel, collecting information, inquiring, piecing the history together. In my search I was aided by one of the Magisters of Silvermoon who had somehow managed to overcome her fear of me, likely due to her poorly-concealed aspirations of acquiring forbidden arcane knowledge with my help. It didn't matter much to me, I was just glad to have company for a change.</p><p>Now that this work has been completed and has found its way into your hands, dear reader, I hope you are ready for the revelations it shall grant you. Pay attention and take heed, for this chronicle is closely tied to the dramatic events that have shaken our world over the last few decades. And perhaps it may foreshadow things yet to come.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Necrolytes of the Old Horde</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong>PART I</strong>
</h3>
<h4>
  <strong>PREDECESSORS OF THE DEATH KNIGHTS:</strong>
</h4>
<h4>
<strong>THE FIRST WAR –</strong> <strong>NECROLYTES OF THE OLD HORDE</strong>
</h4>
<p>The origins of the Undead Scourge and the Death Knights of present day can be traced as far back as the rise of the demon-influenced Old Horde on Draenor and their invasion into Azeroth, which sparked the First War. The Orcish clans' abandonment of their old Shamanistic ways and transformation into the volatile Horde was facilitated by the introduction of two important new magic schools, Warlocks and Necrolytes, the former being practitioners of demonic magic, and the latter – death priests with considerable necromantic powers.</p>
<p>From a Magister's point of view, the Necrolytes were wielders of Void energies, using a more ritualistic approach than the contemporary shadow spellcasters, who hold a more academic attitude towards their art. Despite using such powers, these Orcs had a poor theoretical understanding of the Void, and usually described their spellcraft as invoking the powers of the "Underworld" (also sometimes referred to as "Hell" and "Hades"). Curiously, the Warlocks also identified the "Underworld" as the source of their power (rather than the Twisting Nether), which leads me to believe that both sorcerous sects of the Old Horde were only permitted a limited grasp of the power they had at their disposal, possibly to prevent them from becoming too strong and going rogue. The members of Shadow Council were likely the only ones to fully understand the dark arts.</p>
<p>While the Warlocks served as the more aggressive frontline spellcasters, Necrolytes took a more defensive stance, working to learn more about the enemy, support the Orcish armies with undead minions, or lend unnatural protection to the warriors. They were supplanted by the first generation of Death Knights during the Second War, and their legacy was carried by the Scourge's Necromancers of the Third War.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>Training and abilities</strong>
</p>
<p>A novice Necrolyte's training is quite harsh and painful, and a large number of initiates don't survive long enough to complete it. The rigorous study and rehearsal of rituals is accompanied by enduring painful spells, involuntary blood drawing, and deprivation of food or sleep – all intended to push the neonate closer to the embrace of death and the powers of the Shadow. Those that live long enough to finish their studies and earn the mantle of Necrolyte are rewarded with the respect and fear of their peers, as well as the opportunity to further enhance their knowledge and learn new spells as they serve at one of the Horde's temples.</p>
<p><strong>Shadow Spear:</strong> A Necrolyte's most basic spell – learning it marks the completion of their training and entry into active service to the Horde. It is as straightforward as it can be – a syphoned portion of shadow energy is focused, given form as a "spear"-like projectile, and then thrown at a target. Due to its weak nature, it would only be used as a last resort, preferably against lesser foes. Necrolytes held a belief that a dead Orc's soul descended into Hades and was then separated into good and evil essence, with this spell tapping into the power of the evil essence. Still, any spellcaster with a decent grasp of Shadow magic should be able to cast this spell or a variation of it, and knowledge of the old Orcish religions isn't really required to do so.</p>
<p><strong>Raise Dead:</strong> An expression of necromancy in its purest form, this is a relatively simple variation of the raising spell. Dispersed soul energies are drawn from the Twisting Nether and bound to a recently slain corpse in order to raise it into Undeath. The skeletal structure is animated and the flesh is cast aside, serving no real purpose to the thus created undead automaton. The raised skeleton is deprived of a mind, except the most basic instinct to attack any enemies in its vicinity. It has to be controlled by a higher intelligence, usually the Necrolyte that raised it, in order to be of use in battle. Unable to wield weapons, these skeletons attack with their bare finger bones. They are also quite fragile, due to having no armor, clothes or even flesh on their bones. Even if the automaton is not crushed by enemy blows, the energies that hold it together are weak and incoherent, and will eventually drain away, at which point the skeleton will crumble to dust.</p>
<p><strong>Dark Vision:</strong> Based on the self-evident truth that wherever there is light, there is also shadow, this spell can tap into any darker area over a certain distance, allowing an adept Necrolyte to "peek" though such a shadow and behold the area that surrounds it. The spell's effective scope was deliberately restricted, for merging one's mind with the shadow for too long could cause insanity or even worse side effects. Nevertheless, the spell could be used fairly frequently, allowing the caster to survey numerous areas beyond their immediate line of sight. This was used during the First War to reveal the locations of human settlements or gold mines in the vicinity of an Orcish encampment, thus allowing the Horde to quickly identify targets of opportunity. While this may seem to have given the Orcs a great tactical advantage during the war, it was offset by the fact that the human clerics of Northshire had their own very similar spell, which granted them far sight and thus the same benefits as a Necrolyte's Dark Vision.</p>
<p><strong>Unholy Armor:</strong> A more complex and elegant necromantic spell, which was learned by the more experienced Necrolytes and used during the later stages of the war. This dark incantation compels several captured souls to coalesce around a chosen target, forming a spectral protective shell, like a supernatural suit of armor. It fully absorbs all physical and magical damage directed at the target creature, making it fully invulnerable for the spell's duration. This supreme protection comes at a price, however, as the spell needs to drain a hefty amount of the target's life force, in order to be fully powered-up and properly bind to the recipient's body. Thus, using Unholy Armor could be a risky gambit, as it left its wearer weakened and vulnerable after its inevitable dissipation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>Necrolyte Temples</strong>
</p>
<p>Crude and barbaric in appearance, Necrolyte temples were the places where these dark casters would gather to focus their powers, restore their energy, heal their wounds, learn new spells, and prepare for active service in the field. The shrines consisted of a circle of cleaned stones around an altar. The altar had a stone base, but its central piece was made of Blackroot – a rare plant known for its magical properties, particularly with regard to Shadow magic. Without such a component, the temple would not have the required potency to fulfil its purpose. Some of these shrines also featured hidden underground stashes for relics, reagents and other materials. Necrolyte temples initially required payment in blood (a highly valuable reagent) for services to be rendered, yet the war effort necessitate a switch to gold offerings.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>The</strong> <strong> first</strong> <strong> Temple of the Damned</strong></p>
<p>Notorious for their role in the Second and Third War, the Temples of the Damned encountered and destroyed by the Alliance paled in comparison to their dark prototype – the original Temple of the Damned, which was the only one of its kind during the First War. Its exact location was never made entirely clear, though most sources placed it somewhere in the area between the Redridge Mountains and the Swamps of Sorrow. The temple exuded such palpable evil that it filled weaker-willed men with an irresistible sense of dread, making any attempts to attack this site nearly impossible. We can only speculate what sort of vile rituals took place there, but it is certain that the Old Horde's Necrolytes and Warlock drew much power from the Temple and stored their most valuable artifacts in its vaults. Its ultimate fate remains a mystery as well – some claim it was destroyed at the end of the First War by Orgrim Doomhammer's troops when he seized power over the Horde. Others believe the Paladins of the Silver Hand discreetly demolished it after the end of the Second War and kept it a secret, to prevent dark magi from being drawn towards the ruins. There are even those who believe it was never found and still exists, concealed by some evil spell, just waiting for someone to claim its horrific legacy...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>Final fate</strong>
</p>
<p>The Necrolytes were wiped out by Gul'dan after the end of the First War – not out of spite, but out of necessity. They were ritually sacrificed and their souls became the fuel to empower the weapons of the first generations of true Death Knights, who fought in the Second War. The green gem adorning the top of their truncheons was, in essence, the crystalized soul of a slain Necrolyte. Without it, these dark warriors could have never achieved the level of spell mastery they exhibited. Thus, the Necrolytes became, quite literally, the foundation the first brotherhood of undead soldiers was built upon.</p>
<p>Very few Necrolytes managed to escape and hide in various dark corners of the world. Their fate remains unknown.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <strong>APPENDIX to PART I</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>The Necrolyte in-game spell progression</strong>
</p>
<p>All Necrolytes have the Shadow Spear spell by default.</p>
<p>Necrolytes can be trained for the first time during the third mission - the attack against the township of Grand Hamlet. The Raise Dead spell may be researched at a Temple as well.</p>
<p>The Dark Sight spell becomes available for research during the fifth mission, the one after the foray into the Dead Mines.</p>
<p>The Unholy Armor spell becomes available for research during the ninth mission, after Garona's rescue from Northshire Abbey.</p>
<p>Apparently, the more advanced spells become available after dungeon missions, supposedly because your troops were able to recover some useful arcane lore from their depths...</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Death Knights of Gul'dan</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong>PART II-A</strong>
</h3><h4>
  <strong>THE SECOND WAR</strong>
</h4><h4>
  <strong>DEATH KNIGHTS OF GUL'DAN</strong>
</h4><p> </p><p>
  <strong>The New Order</strong>
</p><p>The fall of Stormwind signaled the end of the First War and the final victory of the Orcs. It was at that time when a major change came over the Old Horde – Blackhand's most trusted lieutenant, Orgrim Doomhammer, had accumulated a considerable power base and numerous followers among the clans. All he needed was an opportunity and it presented itself when Gul'dan, greatest mortal warlock to have ever walked upon Azeroth, and leader of the clandestine Shadow Council, was incapacitated for reasons that are still not fully revealed to this very day. Doomhammer seized this chance and quickly deposed Blackhand, taking full control over the Horde. His new position of power allowed him to learn more about the Horde's inner workings, particularly with regard to the Shadow Council and its demonic masters. Doomhammer decreed that the Warlocks were traitors to the Horde and ordered them wiped out, as he personally assaulted the Shadow Council itself.</p><p>When Gul'dan finally awakened from his strange coma, he found that his vaunted power had evaporated and his demon-empowered followers were all slain. He was well aware that he would not survive for long; the only way to endure was to make himself look necessary to the new Warchief. Though the Orcs' victory in the southern lands was absolute, many human survivors fled across the Great Sea, with the intent of reaching the other human nations far to the north. Doomhammer correctly predicted that the humans would never forgive the Horde for what it had done, and that they would band together to avenge the fall of Stormwind. A Second War was clearly inevitable, if the Horde was to establish its home in this new world, and it was deemed better for the Orcs to invade the northlands before the human retaliation could arrive. The extermination of the Warlock clan, however, had left the Horde without its cadre of offensive spellcasters – a critical weakness in the face of the might of the human magi, who were sure to join the coming conflict. This was the straw of hope that Gul'dan latched onto.</p><p>The devious warlock offered Doomhammer to create a new and fearsome host of undead spellcasters, which would bolster the Horde's armies and give them a decisive advantage in its future battles. The new Warchief reluctantly agreed and Gul'dan began his dark work, though he had to experience a number of failures before finally discovering the working formula...</p><p>
  <strong>Three Become One</strong>
</p><p>The Death Knights of the Second War were the first dark warriors in Azeroth to truly deserve this name. They were unique creatures in two respects – first, they were pure spellcasters unlike the later incarnations of Death Knights that appeared during the Third War and the years following it; and second – they were created from the union of three different components.</p><ul>
<li>
<strong>Body</strong> – The bodies of the slain Knights of Stormwind (members of the ancient Brotherhood of the Horse) were used as the physical vessels for the first Death Knights. Though they had been damaged by decay, they still proved sturdy enough to fulfill their purpose and endure for a very long time after being forcibly raised.</li>
<li>
<strong>Soul</strong> – The souls of the slain Warlocks, particularly members of the shattered Shadow Council, were imbued into the selected bodies, thus becoming their driving force. This ensured that the Death Knights were not mindless undead automatons, but competent and cunning spellcasters who could further expand their skills and knowledge over time. The first soul to be used was Teron Gorefiend's, making him the first raised Death Knight.</li>
<li>
<strong>Power</strong> – Necromancy is a difficult art to master and Gul'dan did not have much time, as Doomhammer's patience wore thin by the hour. He needed a powerful catalyst to grant his Death Knights arcane powers from the very start, and he found the solution in the Necrolytes who had fallen out of favor with the new Warchief and could likely share the Warlocks' fate. Gul'dan ritually sacrificed the death priests and harnessed the released soul energy to craft the unholy jewels that adorn the Death Knights' truncheons and grant them a tremendous focus of dark power.</li>
</ul><p>Once they were raised into service, the Death Knights were presented to Doomhammer. While he despised the idea of having to use such unnatural beings in the upcoming campaign, he was all too aware of the need for their services. Therefore, he accepted them into the Horde and allowed them to continue training and expanding their abilities.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Death Knight Orders</strong>
</p><p>Once they were inducted into the Horde, the Death Knights were distributed among the clans and they adopted some of their specific cultural traits. Thus, the once uniform undead spellcasters quickly became divided into smaller orders, each with its own roles in combat and unique features.</p><p><strong>Blackrock Clan (Red) – Order of Crimson Doom:</strong> Warchief Doomhammer's own clan understandably held a position of greater power and influence than the other clans, and this was valid for its order of Death Knights as well. Clad in incandescent red robes, they often served as battlefield advisors and tacticians, in addition to their regular role as spellcasters. It was not uncommon for them to issue orders on behalf of the Warchief, though they obeyed certain boundaries, in order to avoid invoking his wrath. It is suspected they orchestrated the invasion of Quel'Thalas. Their favored spell was Raise Dead, providing quick (and dispensable) reinforcements in the heat of battle. Their temples often featured improvised war rooms, facilitating their role as tacticians.</p><p><strong>Stormreaver Clan (Blue) – Order of Azure Agony:</strong> Perhaps the most mysterious of the Death Knight orders, recognized by their sapphire-colored robes, which gave a sensation of cold to anyone who looked upon them. The members of this order were the most loyal to Gul'dan, serving as his personal guard and aides. They were usually involved in the accumulation of arcane knowledge, with the purpose of giving the otherwise small Stormreaver clan an advantage in battle and a chance to endure – not only against the Alliance, but against Doomhammer as well, as his disdain for Gul'dan and his followers was no secret. To this end, their temples housed large libraries of gathered (or stolen) arcane lore and spellbooks. The order's favored spell was Whirlwind, which could wreak devastation upon enemy ships and air forces, as well as strike fear in the hearts of their foes.</p><p><strong>Twilight's Hammer Clan (Violet) – Order of the Violet Abyss:</strong> Just as the Twilight's Hammer clan is obsessed with total annihilation and bringing forth the apocalypse, their Death Knight order was similarly devoted to total destruction and desolation. They employed their spells in such ways as to inflict the most suffering and devastation upon the enemy armies, or pretty much anything in their path. Not surprisingly, their favored spell was Death and Decay, which could deaden and blight entire stretches of land, and cause even sturdy buildings to be severely damaged. Alliance troops were rightfully horrified by the very sight of the unholy warrior's lavender-colored robes on the battlefield. Their temples usually featured forges where they devised new and deadlier weapons for their clan. The first Runeblades were most likely crafted upon one such forge, making them the forebears of contemporary Death Knight's runic swords.</p><p><strong>Black Tooth Grin Clan (Black) – Order of Black Punishment:</strong> The presence of these unholy horsemen, clad in the deepest black, was unnerving even to other members of the Horde. And with good reason – these Death Knights were known to be quite nefarious and treacherous, much like their clan, which was founded by the deposed Blackhand's sons, Rend and Maim, and aimed to establish its own power base within the volatile Horde. They shared in their clan's schemes and often hoarded treasure and valuable artifacts in order to increase the Black Tooth Grin's power and influence. Their temples had hidden vaults and caches where they kept their loot. This order's favored spell was Unholy Armor, allowing one of the clan's champions to cut a swathe of death and carnage through enemy ranks without sustaining even a scratch. Whether these reckless warriors survived after the spell's effect wore off was an entirely different matter...</p><p><strong>Bleeding Hollow Clan (Green) – Order of Emerald Torment:</strong> The Bleeding Hollow were fearsome and highly skilled warriors, and their Chieftain, Kilrogg Deadeye, always used his resources in battle efficiently. These Death Knights, distinguished by their emerald-colored robes, had similarly adopted a very pragmatic approach to battle, supporting the clan's warriors in the most opportune moments, using their powers sparingly, so that they could maintain constant pressure on the enemy, rather than expend all of their mana in the first minutes and having to fall back to recharge. Their favored spell was Death Coil due to its efficiency – it inflicted considerable damage upon the enemy, while also draining their life force and replenishing the Death Knights' own. Their temples usually featured alchemical laboratories where they devised various potions to heal and strengthen the Bleeding Hollow warriors in battle.</p><p><strong>Dragonmaw Clan (White) – Order of the Dancing Bones:</strong> The Dragonmaw clan adopted a singular and very important purpose during the Second War – the breeding and training of enslaved dragons for use in battle as devastating aerial weapons. Their Death Knight order, recognizable by their gleaming white robes, also focused their efforts on supporting the dragon riders during their raids upon Alliance towns, with their favored spell being Haste, an incantation that turned even a more sluggish dragon into a fierce maw of death. The order's temples featured considerable stashes of dragon bones that the Death Knights experimented upon, their intent being the raising of undead dragons – a more obedient and powerful alternative to the enslaved whelps used by their clan. While these experiments never bore fruit, this dark research most likely served as a foundation for the creation of the Frost Wyrms by the Undead Scourge's Necromancers many years later.</p><p><strong>Burning Blade Clan (Orange) – Order of Burning Fury:</strong> Just as the Burning Blade clan is a volatile band of crazed berserk warriors, their Death Knight cadre was quite violent and unpredictable in battle, often to the point of recklessness. Despite their physical frailty and spellcasting focus, these orange-clad unholy warriors did not shy from jumping into the fray and engaging the enemy directly, alongside the grunts. Their battle tactics were chaotic and defied common sense. They also did not appear to have a favored spell and usually acted as their impulses drove them. The order was rumored to have had a fondness for flammable or exploding potions and oils, stockpiles of which could often be found in the depths of their temples. These qualities made them a dangerous and fearsome foe.</p><p><strong>Horde Traitors (Yellow) – (Unknown Renegade Order):</strong> Rumors persist of Horde troops that deserted from the war and sought to carve their own path into the world. There is a chance that several Death Knights may have gone rogue as well, although the only information about them is based on hearsay and highly unreliable eyewitness accounts. What little information exists indicates that renegade Orcish bands would often pick bright yellow as their identifying color, to set themselves apart from the clans, and therefore it is likely that rogue Death Knights wore yellow robes. Their battle tactics, spellcasting skills and temple design peculiarities remain a mystery.</p><p><em> <strong>Note:</strong> </em> <em> In the original WarCraft II, the yellow army is designated "Alliance Traitors" or "Horde Traitors" (depending on the faction you play). These traitor troops only appear in skirmish games and are able to train Death Knights (so their existence is possible, at least in theory).</em></p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Death Knight Spells</strong>
</p><p><strong>Touch of Darkness:</strong> The first and most basic Death Knight spell is the Touch of Darkness, a short-range blast of raw shadow energy directed towards a ground target. It is fairly weak and cannot cause any substantial harm to its victim, being intended more as a means of slowing down or scaring away an enemy before the Death Knight flees from a dangerous situation. Ironically, the spell's weak nature can also be its strength, as it has virtually no mana cost and can be cast as many times as needed without compromising the Death Knight's capacity to use his more powerful spells. In this regard, it is an improvement over the Shadow Spear.</p><p><strong>Death Coil:</strong> A more powerful version of the basic Touch of Darkness, the Death Coil can drain the caster's mana reserves, yet delivers an attack that truly hurts. A considerably more focused and unstable blast of shadow energy, the Death Coil can be aimed at an individual target for its full effect, or a group of targets for a weaker, diffused effect. The spell's most curious aspect is that it creates a feedback, siphoning life energy from the stricken foe back to the Death Knight. This is how the dark riders can quickly replenish their vitality after sustaining injuries in the field.</p><p><strong>Haste:</strong> The Death Knight's necromantic powers allow him to manipulate not only the dead, but also the energies coursing through the bodies of the living. This particular spell increases energy generation in the body of the target, causing them to move with unnaturally increased speed. While this temporary energy boost does not seem to have any immediate harmful effects on tis target, the Death Knights continue to study the consequences of frequent applications. It is a useful tool when pursing enemies or trying to flee from a hard situation. On dragons, the spell causes an unexpected state of frenzy, which results in an increased attack speed as well. Hastened Death Knights are known to channel some of their spells at a greater speed.</p><p><strong>Raise Dead:</strong> Barely changed since it was used by the Necrolytes of old; this still remains the quintessential necromantic spell that raises skeletal automatons out of freshly slain friends and foes alike. The thus produced skeleton is under the full control of the caster until it is destroyed or the arcane powers holding it together fade away. While this is an easy way to provide a quick boost to the Horde armies, these undead minions are highly vulnerable to Light-derived powers, such as the Paladins' newly developed Exorcism ability.</p><p><strong>Whirlwind:</strong> One of the most exotic incantations in the Death Knight spellbook, this is no ordinary gust of wind. The caster summons a volatile vortex from the Twisting Nether, composed of raw void energy and raging souls. The whirlwind wanders around randomly and cannot be controlled by its creator, however it can do considerable damage to land- and air-based troops, as well as to ships, whose sails are easily snapped by the roaring winds. The caster must remember to use this spell a good distance away from his own troops because the Whirlwind does not distinguish between friend or foe.</p><p><strong>Unholy Armor:</strong> Another refinement of a familiar Necrolyte spell, the Unholy Armor retains its original effect of drawing souls from the Twisting Nether and using them to form a protective shell, not unlike a suit of phantasmal armor, around a chosen target, granting complete invulnerability for a time. The spell still retains its treacherous side effect of draining most of the target's vitality – a necessary token of power for the protective field to bind properly, however the loss of is not as severe as the older version of the spell. It has been discovered, through a few unfortunate accidents, that casting this spell on targets carrying volatile substances (such as Goblin Sappers or Dwarven Demolition Squads) causes them to detonate instantly.</p><p><strong>Death and Decay:</strong> Perhaps the most powerful of the Death Knight spells, Death and Decay creates a field of focused shadow energy near the ground, which causes rapid decomposition of anything trapped within it. This process causes the release of highly caustic gases, which eat away anything in their path – flesh, stone, wood and even steel. The spell is therefore capable of damaging (and eventually destroying) even the sturdiest of buildings, and the most heavily armored battleships. The only way to avoid this devastating force was to move away from it, if at all possible.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Death Knight Equipment</strong>
</p><p>The Death Knights of the Second War were not meant to fight the enemy head-on. Therefore they wore no real armor, but only robes to conceal their decayed bodies. Their most essential bits of equipment were their risen stallions and the truncheons in their hands.</p><p><strong>Undead horses:</strong> Just as the bodies of the fallen knights of Stormwind served as the hosts of the newly-raised Death Knights, so did their faithful war steeds join their previous masters in undeath. Though they have sustained some damage due to decay, they are driven by unholy powers that compensate for the impaired muscles and sinew. Though not as fast as an actual living horse, these risen steeds allow their riders to move swiftly around the battlefield and outmaneuver enemy footmen, thus making Death Knights an even greater threat. The undead horse's powers are bound to its rider, therefore if the Death Knight is slain, his horse shall perish as well.</p><p><strong>Truncheons:</strong> More advanced than the familiar magic wands, a Death Knight's truncheon is a powerful and volatile focal point for their unholy powers. Most of them were crafted from Blackroot, a type of wood once used in the Necrolytes' altars, though several specimens made of human bones (usually a humerus) have been recovered as well. Adorning the top of the truncheon is an eldritch green gem, which is actually the harvested and crystallized soul of a sacrificed Necrolyte. These gems are considered to be among the most powerful foci for dark sorcery ever seen in the world of Azeroth and have been much sought after by Necromancers and Warlocks alike. However, any recovered specimens were locked away by the Kirin Tor due to the danger they represented. When the magi of Dalaran finally mustered the courage to perform a few tests on the captured dark artifacts, they found out that they had mysteriously dissipated into inert dust. No one knows if this was a spontaneous process, a self-defense mechanism, or perhaps triggered by an external force.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Temples of the Damned</strong>
</p><p>Just as the human magi need arcane towers to do research and hone their skills in peace, the Death Knight required a suitable sanctuary. The Temple of the Damned (known as the <em>Grombolar</em>, "bowels of the giant," in the Orcish tongue) seemed imposing on the surface, built from the petrified bones of long-dead giants recovered from the decaying world of Draenor. The actual temple was built entirely underground, however, and consisted of a series of crypt-like chambers. The number of chambers was usually dictated by the size of the Horde base the Temple was built in, as larger bases tended to maintain larger contingents of Death Knights. The underground chambers could have various purposes – resting chambers, laboratories, reliquaries, stashes, training areas, etc. The Temples of the different Death Knight Orders often included special features, as described a few pages prior.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Final fate</strong>
</p><p>Following the fall of the Old Horde, most Death Knights sought ways to return to Draenor, which was the last somewhat safe place for their kind. Most of them accomplished this task and passed through the reawakened rift together with the Bleeding Hollow clan. There is reason to believe that several Death Knights stayed behind in Azeroth, yet they were most likely hunted down and exterminated by the Kirin Tor and the Knights of the Silver Hand. If any survived, they must have hidden themselves extraordinarily well, as no one has seen or heard them in decades.</p><p>One curious rumor that still persists within the Horde of present day is that our mighty Warchief, Thrall, once met a Death Knight of the Stormreaver Clan near Grim Batol during the earliest days of the New Horde. This is at least plausible since there used to be an abandoned Temple of the Damned in the area, which was discovered years later by Lady Alistra, one of the three Death Knight trainers in the Order of the Ebon Blade. When asked about the fate of that particular Death Knight, Thrall allegedly said that he "fell into a lake." I am currently unable to confirm or completely reject this rumor.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>APPENDIX to PART II-A</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>The Death Knight in-game spell progression</strong>
</p><p>All Death Knights have the spells Touch of Darkness and Death Coil by default.</p><p>Death Knights can be trained for the first time during the assault upon the Elven capital of Silvermoon. The Haste and Raise Dead spells can be researched at a Temple of the Damned during this mission as well.</p><p>Whirlwind becomes available for research during the battle against the renegade Stormreaver and Twilight's Hammer clans at the Tomb of Sargeras.</p><p>The final two spells, Unholy Armor and Death and Decay become available for researching during the penultimate mission, the siege of Dalaran.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Death Knights of Draenor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong>PART II-B</strong>
</h3>
<h4>
  <strong>AFTERMATH OF THE SECOND WAR</strong>
</h4>
<h4>
  <strong>DEATH KNIGHTS OF SHADOWMOON</strong>
</h4>
<p>The Horde's catastrophic defeat in the Second War was sealed with the destruction of the dreaded Dark Portal. Panic gripped the clans and most of them were easily defeated by the Alliance's forces. The surviving Orcs were rounded up and sent to Internment Camps.</p>
<p>Kilrogg Deadeye and his Bleeding Hollow Clan, however, evaded capture and went into hiding. Since their clan was too small and ill-equipped to mount any attacks against the fully-mobilized Alliance, their efforts turned towards rescuing any other surviving Orcs that had not yet been captured and sent to the camps. They also sought to recover any of the Horde's allies that were still free – Forest Trolls, Dragons and, of course, Death Knights. Once Kilrogg had decided that he had rescued enough Horde troops, he turned his thoughts towards finding a way back to Draenor. The recovered Death Knights turned out to be instrumental in this task, as they somehow managed to establish an astral connection with Draenor and received instructions from the Warchief that had remained to lord over the clans that never crossed over into Azeroth – the dark shaman Ner'zhul.</p>
<p>A dark spell was channeled from both sides of the dormant rift, allowing it to open for a while and let the Bleeding Hollow cross into Draenor, with an unnatural dark fog concealing the refugees from the watchmen of the nearby Nethergarde Citadel. Once they appeared on the other side, among the broken wasteland of the Hellfire Peninsula, the Bleeding Hollow were greeted by Ner'zhul as legendary heroes, and were allowed to return to their ancestral lands near the cursed ruins of Auchindoun. The additional "war assets" they had brought with themselves were to be used in conjunction by all the clans, and yet Ner'zhul specifically selected the most powerful among the Death Knights for his own clan. These dark horsemen went on to expand their powers even more with the knowledge inherited from the now extinct Shadow Council, as well as various secrets plumbed from the depths of the Black Temple (formerly the Temple of Karabor).</p>
<p>The Black Riders of Ner'zhul, led by Teron Gorefiend himself, became a much-feared force of dark spellcasters and ensured the Shadowmoon Clan's dominating position among the increasingly desperate Orc clans of Draenor. They built a fearsome altar upon the plains in front of the Black Temple, and surrounded it with Elven Runestones, which were so deeply corrupted by evil magic that they spontaneously burst into unholy flames. Legions of undead servitors roamed the desolate plains around the foul sanctuary and most of the Orcs were afraid to approach it. They served Ner'zhul, not out of loyalty or fear, but due to his promise that he'd eventually give them a world of their own to inhabit...</p>
<p>The only ones that could stand up to the Dark Horsemen were an order of Death Knights that were assigned to serve the Laughing Skull Clan. The clan chieftain, the cunning Ogre-Mage Mogor taught them much arcane lore that bolstered their power and confidence. More importantly, though, they had brought from Azeroth something that turned out to be quite valuable – grimoires that contained secret knowledge needed to rebuild and awaken the Dark Portal. They kept this treasure locked deep in the vaults of their Temple of the Damned and refused to share it with any, even Ner'zhul himself. They did not change their mind even when the Warchief of Draenor informed them of his intentions to reactivate the Dark Portal, and seek out ways to open even more rifts, in a bid to gain access to other worlds where the Horde could find a new home, leaving the dying Draenor behind. The Death Knights' obstinacy provoked a raid by a Shadowmoon strike force, which was aided by the legendary chieftain Grom Hellscream himself. The destruction and sacking of their Temple quickly taught the surviving dark warriors the virtue of obedience...</p>
<p>Once Ner'zhul's plans were in motion, the Black Riders of Shadowmoon were crucial for obtaining several artifacts from Azeroth. The dark shaman led his undead minions personally to the Stormwind library, where he stole the Book of Medivh. Once all the necessary components were acquired, most of the Orcs withdrew to Draenor, so that the preparations for the arcane ritual could begin. The nations of Azeroth, however, could not ignore such an incursion and sent an expeditionary force through the rebuilt Dark Portal, led by several of the Alliance's greatest heroes. The Death Knights proved to be one of their greatest obstacles due to their ever-growing necromantic powers. The expedition's armory in the southern reaches of Hellfire was said to have been devastated by a troop of Death Knights, its slain defenders raised as vengeful apparitions. This was but one of the many atrocities they committed during this bitter conflict.</p>
<p>Eventually, Ner'zhul was able to finish his darkest spell and opened numerous dimensional rifts. What he did not foresee was the feedback of these rifts, which began to tear Draenor apart. The dark shaman and his followers escaped into one of the rifts, yet their success ultimately proved to be their undoing, as they walked straight into the clawed hands of the Demonlord Kil'jaeden, who was quite eager to punish his treacherous former minion...</p><hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Final fate</strong>
</p>
<p>Once Ner'zhul had fallen into Kil'jaeden's hands he began his long and painful journey towards becoming the Lich King. His followers, including numerous Death Knights, were transformed into skeletal Liches that would serve as powerful leaders and spellcasters of the army that the Demonlord was planning to build up – the Undead Scourge.</p>
<p>There is a possibility that some of the Death Knights passed through other rifts and evaded the demons, finding their way to other worlds. If this is true, there is no telling where they ended up, whether or not they survived, or if we'll ever hear from them again.</p>
<p>And finally, several Death Knights remained on Draenor and survived its cataclysmic discorporation, which turned into what is nowadays known as Outland. It has been confirmed beyond any doubt that Teron Gorefiend had joined Illidan Stormrage and inhabited the Black Temple, just as he had during the reign of Ner'zhul. He is said to have fallen in battle with a band of heroes that raided the temple, though with this kind of powerful undead beings you can never know for sure...</p><hr/>
<p>
  <strong>APPENDIX to PART II-B</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>The Orcish Clans of Draenor and their Chieftains</strong>
</p><ul>
<li>
<strong>Shadowmoon Clan (Black)</strong> – Ner'zhul, the Dark Shaman</li>
<li>
<strong>Bleeding Hollow Clan (Orange)</strong> – Kilrogg Deadeye</li>
<li>
<strong>Warsong Clan (Red)</strong> – Grom Hellscream</li>
<li>
<strong>Thunderlord Clan (Violet)</strong> – Fenris the Hunter</li>
<li>
<strong>Shattered Hand Clan (White)</strong> – Korgath Bladefist</li>
<li>
<strong>Bonechewer Clan (Green)</strong> – Tagar Spinebreaker</li>
<li>
<strong>Laughing Skull Clan (Yellow)</strong> – Mogor the Ogre</li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em><strong>Note:</strong> The Shattered Hand Chieftain's name was spelled as "Korgath" at the time of WarCraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal's release. For reasons unknown it was retconned to "Kargath" later on.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A blue-colored Orcish clan of Draenor does not appear in-game, although recent discoveries in the game's code indicate it's the "Flowerpicker Clan" - apparently some kind of weird hidden joke or easter egg.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Death Knights of the Undead Scourge</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong>PART III</strong>
</h3><h4>
  <strong>THE THIRD WAR</strong>
</h4><h4>
  <strong>DEATH KNIGHTS OF THE UNDEAD SCOURGE</strong>
</h4><p>While the undead had most certainly been used in warfare throughout the history of Azeroth, such use was always very limited - usually as dispensable troops, more rarely as supporting spellcasters. The Undead Scourge that sparked the Third War was unprecedented - a complete and fully-functional army of the Undead, capable of embarking upon entire campaigns with only basic supervision and control from a higher being. It was created to fulfil the purpose that the Old Horde had failed to achieve - the scouring of the mortal races powerful enough to impede the Burning Legion's return to Azeroth. While the Scourge by itself was never powerful enough to be an overwhelming military force, it preyed quite successfully upon the Alliance's key weakness at the time - their disunity. The three primary Alliance powers of the Northlands - the kingdom of Lordaeron, the elven realm of Quel'Thalas, and the magocratic nation of Dalaran - could have probably crushed the undead threat if they had worked together from the very start. Instead, they allowed themselves to be taken out one by one - Lordaeron severely underestimated the threat of the plague and the forces behind it, Quel'Thalas stuck to their policy of isolationism, and Dalaran found itself hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched by the time they had finally realized just how dire the situation was. The dwarves of Khaz Modan and the people of Stormwind were too far to the south to intervene. The Alliance was effectively dismantled, at least for a while.</p><p>With primary spellcasting duties relegated to the vile Necromancers and the eerie Banshee, Death Knights assumed the more fitting role of field commanders and officers. This happened towards the later stages of the Scourge's conquest of the Northlands, with Nathrezim Dreadlords and Liches filling in this role early on. The first Death Knight of the Scourge was Prince Arthas Menethil - a name that stirs fear and hatred in the hearts of mortals even now, when his reign is finally over. The Nathrezim overseers didn't trust him at first and with good reason - the Lich King intended him to become the tool of his emancipation from the very beginning. Still, the cunning demons decided to tolerate Ner'zhul's new champion as he slowly built up his undead troops, starting with a gathering of any surviving Cult of the Damned members that were still hiding within the broken kingdom of Lordaeron, to serve as the backbone of his new army. As Arthas's forces grew in number and strength, he was able to assault the elven kingdom of Quel'Thalas and commit one of the most dreadful acts of genocide in Azeroth's modern history. The undead army was bolstered with every victory it achieved. In the end, Quel'Thalas was nothing more than a burned husk of its former self, the blessed Sunwell was corrupted beyond any hope of repair, and Kel'Thuzad was reborn as a Lich, allowing the Scourge to execute the final stages of its plan and bring the Burning Legion to Azeroth…</p><p>Arthas was not the only Paladin to succumb to the darkness, however - other Paladins followed in his footsteps and sought revenge for the fall of Lordaeron. This new generation of unholy warriors established the standard for Death Knights as we know them today - fierce runeblade-wielding warriors with shadowy arcane powers that supplemented their already formidable skills; the perfect antithesis of the noble Paladins. One major element they retained from their spellcasting predecessors was the undead steeds they rode - now better armored and more resilient, fitting their new roles in direct melee combat. These unholy horsemen committed many atrocities in the later stages of the Third War, as well as later on, when the Plaguelands were formed. Their legacy lives on in their successors - the Death Knights of Naxxramas and Acherus.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Summoning and Revival</strong>
</p><p>Undead heroes were summoned onto the battlefield (or revived in case they fell) through the Altar of Darkness, one of the Scourge's foulest creations. It is a focal point for loose dark spirits – it draws them in and concentrates them until they are able to be manifested in the flesh. When an Undead force requires the presence of a Death Knight, this is where he would appear.</p><p>Once deployed on the battlefield, the Death Knight is free to organize his spells and other equipment as he sees fit.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Spells and Abilities</strong>
</p><p>Even though Death Knights were re-invented as melee warriors, they still retain a substantial spellcasting capacity. This combination of sword and sorcery makes this generation of dark warriors quite deadly and efficient. It also re-affirms the Death Knight's reputation as the evil counterpart of the Paladins, who also combine martial prowess with spellcasting ability.</p><p><strong>Death Coil:</strong> The old spell has been refined and streamlined to better serve its new casters. The Death Knight weaves a bolt of shadow energy that causes pain and weakness in any living target it hits. When used upon undead minions, however, the Death Coil has a healing effect – it mends their rotting flesh instantly and is thus useful to keep them functional and fighting for longer.</p><p><strong>Death Pact:</strong> In the Undead Scourge, only high-ranking heroes are worth anything. Lesser minions are nothing but disposable tools in the dark army's quest to wipe out human civilization from the Northlands. Therefore, it is only natural that minions are sacrificed for the sake of their masters. This spell allows the Death Knight to snuff out a lesser undead creature and absorb its essence, in order to sustain himself. As his mastery over the spell grows, so does the amount of recovered life energy.</p><p><strong>Unholy Aura:</strong> The Death Knight's pure malice and inner darkness can be manifested as an aura of raw shadow energy. It energizes the undead flesh of any minion nearby, bestowing greater movement speed and regeneration. The Death Knight's enemies shall be horrified to see the wounds of his minions rapidly heal before their very eyes, mere moments before they descend upon them with unnatural speed.</p><p><strong>Animate Dead:</strong> The mightiest among the Death Knight's spells, this advanced incantation allows for the bodies of the recently slain, either friend or foe, to be infused with volatile ectoplasm, which raises them into undeath, albeit for a limited time. As a curious side-effect of this infusion, the reanimated are immune to all enemy weapons and spells, thus making them an unstoppable force for as long as they last.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Equipment</strong>
</p><p>The new generation of Death Knights was bred for battle, and so they wore real chainmail and plate armor to better protect themselves from physical blows. They would no longer rely upon casting spells from a safe distance either, but ride headlong into the battle, runeblade in hand.</p><p><strong>Undead steeds:</strong> The Scourge Death Knight's loyal stallion is stronger and faster than those of the past generation. The first of these unholy steeds was Invincible – Prince Arthas's loyal horse in life, and unyielding mount in undeath. These fearsome horses give their masters greater mobility than most other land warriors, however are still bound to them and would perish as soon as the rider is slain.</p><p><strong>Runeblades:</strong> Though they are pale shadows of Frostmourne's legendary power, the first set of Runeblades was quite a feat. Considerably refined and improved since the early attempts at runeforging dating back to the Second War, these swords, as black as the darkest night, are quite hefty, and yet lighter than their size would suggest. And if their sharp edges were not threatening enough, they are also infused with various dark spells that make their wielder a stronger fighter and spellcaster, and also prevent the runeblade from being knocked out of its master's hand.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Final Fate</strong>
</p><p>With the sundering that occurred within the Scourge when the Civil War in the Plaguelands broke out, and Icecrown Glacier was besieged by Illidan's forces, the Death Knights of the Scourge remained loyal to the Lich King and fled Tirisfal, as Sylvanas Windrunner's newly-formed Forsaken began to take over. Most of them were relocated to the Eastern Plaguelands, some journeyed north to aid the Scourge's efforts in Northrend.</p><p>Eventually, most of them were inducted into the Death Knight orders of Naxxramas and Acherus.</p>
<hr/><p>
  <strong>APPENDIX to PART III</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>The known names of Death Knights from the Third War</strong>
</p><p><strong>Prince Arthas Menethil,</strong> Lord Nightsorrow, Lord Soulrender, Lord Dethstorm, Lord Maldazzar, Lord Darkhallow, Lord Lightstalker, Baron Bloodbane, Baron Felblade, Duke Dreadmoore, Duke Ragereaver, Baron Frostfel, Lord Darkscythe, Duke Wintermaul, Baron Perenolde, Baron Morte</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Death Knights of Naxxramas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong>PART IV</strong>
</h3><h4>
  <strong>THE NEW AGE</strong>
</h4><h4>
  <strong>DEATH KNIGHTS OF NAXXRAMAS</strong>
</h4><p> </p><p>With the end of the Civil War within the Undead Scourge, the peoples of Azeroth thought, for the first time in years, that this threat had more or less been contained. Arthas had escaped to Northrend and sat dormant upon the Frozen Throne, the Scourge forces in Lordaerdon had withdrawn into the Plaguelands to the east, and the western regions were under the rule of Sylvanas Windrunner and her liberated undead, the Forsaken, now members of the new Horde. The Scourge forces, concentrated around the burning ruins of Stratholme, were mostly passive and engaged only in minor incursions into Tirisfal and Silverpine. This all changed when the dread flying citadel Naxxramas arrived to the Eastern Plaguelands. The Scourge quickly reminded everyone that it remained a major threat to this world.</p><p>A former Nerubian citadel, Naxxramas was overtaken by one of the Lich King's chief minions, the Crypt Lord Anub'arak, and gradually transformed into a fearsome military stronghold, made even more dangerous once it was given the power of flight. The Lich Kel'Thuzad, the Lich King's majordomo and most loyal follower, was given command over this newly commissioned weapon of war and immediately began plotting his next assault upon the unsuspecting peoples of Azeroth.</p><p>The flying necropolis was divided into four sectors, each filled with the latest horrors that the Scourge had worked on since their supposed defeat several years prior. The sector of Naxxramas that concerns this study is the Military Quarter – the barracks, training area, and equipment storage for the next iteration of the Death Knight.</p><p>The paradigm had changed since the Third War, however – Death Knights were no longer an elite cadre of fallen holy warriors. Their numbers had swelled with numerous new recruits – both undead and hapless humans enthralled through dark magic. They were intended to be the core segment of the army that would march forth from the Plaguelands and gradually bring all of the Northlands (and perhaps, eventually, the entirety of the Eastern Kingdoms) under the dominion of the Scourge. This military force's only weakness was that the Death Knight's training had not yet been completed, and thus their powers were way below their prime.</p><p>The leaders of this new order of Death Knights were Instructor Razuvious, as well as the dreaded commanders of the Military Wing – the Four Horsemen, some of the strongest dark warriors the Scourge had ever had in its ranks. Understanding these leaders is the key to understanding this generation of unholy warriors as a whole.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Instructor Razuvious</strong>
</p><p>The first one to greet the new Death Knight recruits in Naxxramas (and later in Acherus) was a grim and cruel man with a rather vague past. There are many rumors about his origins, ranging from a former Stromgarde mercenary to a former knight from Stormwind who migrated to the Northlands after his kingdom fell to the Horde at the end of the First War. Whatever the truth may be, one thing is quite certain – he was a formidable warrior and his technique was often considered to be unbeatable (except, perhaps, by a student of his).</p><p>In Naxxramas, he taught the basic combat techniques to the recruits, but kept the more advanced moves and tactics to his personal understudies – a decision that eventually led to his downfall. Still, Razuvious was quite an adversary to take on, and undeath had only increased his powers further. Mortal heroes that wished to tackle him, had to band together in groups, if they expected to stand any chance of success.</p><p>In Acherus, Razuvious served a similar purpose – selecting the best prospective recruits, teaching them how to forge their Runeblade, as well as testing their resolve and mercilessness.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>THE FOUR HORSEMEN</strong>
</p><p>Recognized among the most elite fighting forces the Scourge ever had, the commanders of the Military Quarter, and one of the greatest threat to the peace of the Eastern Kingdoms – the Four Horsemen of Naxxramas were rightfully compared to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse from the old legends, the exception being that they were quite real and many noble heroes fell to their wrath.</p><p>I've always had a certain fascination with these majestic warriors, and thus wanted to achieve a better understanding of their nature. Therefore, I sought not only biographical information about them, but also samples of their inner worlds – writings by their own hand, bits and pieces of text that would allow me (and by extension – you, dear reader) to see these champions for who they really were. I have provided below abstracts of the best materials I could dig up.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Alexandros Mograine</strong>
</p><p>His story is perhaps the most tragic among all Death Knights that have ever lived. Mograine was a great warrior, a cunning leader, and above all – a holy man. He embodied all the virtues and strengths that allowed the Order of the Silver Hand to endure during its darkest times. He was also the staunchest figure in the efforts to fight the Scourge and retake eastern Lordaeron. His loss was a great blow to all paladins in the world, as well as the catalyst for the fall of the other three horsemen of Naxxramas.</p><p>In darkness, Alexandros remained a tremendously powerful warrior, and his might was further boosted by the Corrupted Ashbringer that he wielded – a twisted mockery of a once sacred sword. He was the closest thing the Four Horsemen had to a leader, and thus it was not uncommon for him to inspire the newer Death Knight recruits and trainees.</p><p>In the end, Alexandros was saved from his cursed fate, though only through the sacrifice of his own son, Darion – a favor he would later return. With Mograine gone, his spot was given to Baron Rivendare – a pathetic oaf, barely worthy of being Mograine's replacement.</p><p>During my studies, I was able to recover the partial transcript of a speech that Lord Mograine gave before the Death Knight initiates as they were about to begin the final phase of their training under Instructor Razuvious.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"<strong>The War Upon Life" (an excerpt)</strong></em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>A speech by Alexandros Mograine, Death Knight of Naxxramas</strong> </em>
</p><p>"Warriors of the Scourge, champions of Kel'Thuzad and harbingers of the Lich King, heed my words and rekindle the hatred within your dead hearts. Look at the world around you and savor what you see, for this world will soon be yours for the taking! The coming of Naxxramas is but the first act in a war that will change the face of Azeroth forever. The war to end all wars!</p><p>Let there be no doubt in the ultimate supremacy of the Scourge! Let there be no flicker of hope and no chance for salvation! Who could possibly stand against us? The cowardly humans who linger far to the south and think their city's walls will save them? The addled dwarves who squirm within their decrepit caverns, barely able to see through the haze of their ale-induced stupor? Or perhaps the witless orcs who still cling to their delusions of strength and honor? What about the bestial cow-men of Kalimdor – barely sentient livestock who'd rather graze in the fields than face us in battle? What to say of the vainglorious blood elves that dig through the ashes of their shattered kingdom, still trying to find the vestiges of their long-lost dignity? And do not think that I have forgotten our most hated enemy – the treacherous Forsaken, cowering within the bowels of the very crypts built by us, foolishly believing that their betrayal against the Lich King would go unpunished. Nay, none of these maggots shall be spared! None shall escape from the onslaught of the Scourge! None shall live!</p><p>Train hard and let the hunger for mortal blood grow strong. The Plaguelands are our bastion, but this is only the beginning. One by one, all lands shall be consumed by the blight. You are the most fearsome war machine this world has ever seen – warriors who feel no fear, no pain, no remorse. Warriors who shall not stop fighting until they have wiped out their enemies from the face of the world!</p><p>This is who you are. And this is the glory that awaits you. You only need to reach out and claim it. The war against the living has begun and we are the ones who will break their resolve and show them the folly of resisting death itself!</p><p>Know that I shall be riding at the foremost vanguard and that the mortals' strongest champions and defenders will be the first to be broken by my resolve. Know that I will instill in you the strength to crack open the thickest fortress walls and crush the most tenacious of defenders. Know that the Lich King himself looks upon you through my own eyes, and he bestows upon you his unholy blessing. Go forth and make his will reality!</p><p>We are the Scourge! We are Death itself!"</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Sir Zeliek</strong>
</p><p>A former paladin who was a potent healer and served in this capacity a lot more than as a fighter. He was active in the years between the Second and Third wars, helping rebuild Lordaeron and aiding the villagers when they were beset by illness, bandits or wild beasts.</p><p>Sir Zeliek is a very peculiar case. I cannot exactly call him a "fallen" paladin because he never really lost his way and embraced the darkness, he never truly betrayed the Light. What happened to him was something far more sinister – he was subjugated through Kel'Thuzad's most potent spells and his body was placed under the Scourge's full control. His mind, however, remained free, trapped inside a body that no longer obeyed its commands. Thus Zeliek became a powerful warrior of the Scourge, still able to use his Holy abilities. A possible explanation for this paradox is that he did not wield these powers for evil purposes <em>willingly</em>, but was rather an unwilling puppet of Kel'Thuzad.</p><p>At any rate, I cannot imagine a worse fate than being a cruel tool of the Scourge while being fully aware of your deeds and their consequences. This would surely drive any being into the deepest pits of insanity. Indeed, Sir Zeliek must have suffered from a great internal conflict, as evident by this old prayer book that I was able to recover among the ruins of Stratholme.</p><p>The fair prayers in honor of the Light were long gone – most of them had faded under the merciless influence of the evil that infused the book's owner, and some of them seemed to have been deliberately wiped off from the pages with bleach or some other similar substance. In place of these lost noble writings, Zeliek scribbled many pages of text, most of which is hardly legible – like the meaningless ramblings of a madman. Many passages are written in different handwriting styles, as if by different people – it appears that the former Paladin's mind had broken up into several different personalities vying for supremacy over his ravaged soul.</p><p>Still, some of the passages make sense and can be read. I will include the most relevant parts here.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"<strong>The Conquest of the Light"</strong></em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>(random notes within a desecrated prayer book)</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>by Sir Zeliek, Death Knight of Acherus</strong> </em>
</p><p>"How naïve we had all been. How foolish and arrogant in our perceived invincibility. How comfortable we felt with our belief in the Holy Light, thinking it would protect us from anything, even from the dread might of the Lich King. (illegible) There comes a time, however, when the sweet dream must end and we must all wake up and see reality for what it is...</p><p>(illegible)</p><p>...we are nothing but tools in His hands. Mere extensions of His immortal will. Even my blessed devotion and purity were subverted and are now used as tools for the subjugation of the world I had sworn to defend. I still cannot comprehend how powers that were meant to protect and heal could be used as a means of dispensing hatred and cruelty unto the innocent. Not even in my worst nightmares could I have conceived such profound failure... (illegible) ...an unspeakable perversion that puts into question the very nature of our faith and our service to the Light.</p><p>I wish I could weep. But I cannot. The tears have dried out. The feeling of sorrow is lost within the darkness of what used to be my beating heart. The remorse is buried under the eternal malice that commands my hand and directs it towards villainy.</p><p>(illegible)</p><p>Is my soul finally gone? I ask myself many times while... (illegible) ...not even they answer my summons now. Does my unwilling servitude still give me a chance for salvation? Could I possibly atone for the innocents who fell under the pain of my divine judgment, even though they did not deserve it in the slightest? (illegible)</p><p>This small book was a small source of solace, a connection to my former self. But I see the corruption creeping upon its pages even now. As it withers and falls apart from within, so does my hope to taste freedom someday. (illegible) What use is there of prayers if they fall upon deaf ears? What use of these empty words that echo in the night and fade into the void? Better that I destroy them with my own hands than let them be subverted by... (illegible) ...and perhaps it would be better to set all that we hold sacred to the flame – this must be the only sure way to save it from being perverted, from becoming yet another failure. A failure like me.</p><p>I wish I could weep. But I cannot..."</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Lady Blaumeux</strong>
</p><p>A fallen paladin who had joined the order during the Second War as a very young lady (it is quite possible she concealed her true age at the time). My sources indicate that she was a very proficient warrior and quickly earned the respect of the men she fought alongside. There is some evidence that she was part of travelling peacekeeping bands after the war, whose true purpose was to track down and eliminate surviving Horde spellcasters, especially Death Knights. It is a bitter irony that she would eventually become the very thing she had hunted for years...</p><p>As one of the Four Horsemen, Blaumeux had achieved mastery over shadow magic and was known to enjoy draining the vital energy of her foes. She also had some contributions towards the training of Death Knight recruits and wrote the instructional tome known as "This is my Runeblade..."</p><p>While looking for a written record of Blaumeux, however, I wanted to find something less-known and more personal. My efforts eventually paid off when I was sent a curious package by a Blood Elf paladin who still maintained some degree of friendship with me. This little tome was allegedly found in the possession of one of the Necromancers that had taken over the Windrunner spire in the Ghostlands. It sheds some light upon her thoughts and understanding of the Scourge.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"<strong>The Hunger of Shadow" (an excerpt)</strong></em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>A treatise by Lady Blaumeux, Death Knight of Naxxramas</strong> </em>
</p><p>The schools of magic have had an ongoing rivalry among themselves, an amusing contest meant not to establish one school's superiority over another, but rather to boost the egos of its practitioners. All of this seems so pointless and pathetic now, in the face of the reality that is Undead Scourge. Shadow magic, as exemplified by the incantations employed by the mighty Necromancers and the twisted Banshee, has triumphed over anything the living defenders of these lands managed to throw at us. Fire, ice, arcane – all fizzles and fades away before the advance of the blight!</p><p>The greatest testament to our power is perhaps the Ghostlands, once the beatific southern region of the fallen kingdom of Quel'Thalas. Enchanted forests, protected by the elves' most potent blessings and spells, now a darkened realm of death and decay, its transformation – thorough and irreversible. The Kirin Tor and the Magisters of Silvermoon both found themselves ill-prepared and confused in the face of the Shadow. For centuries the darker aspects of magic had been a taboo among their kind, and it was but a matter of time before they paid the price for their sanctimonious reluctance to leave the comfortable path of the "safer" arcane arts. They also failed to understand that the shadow grows in power the more it consumes, so as the Plaguelands spread, their ability to counter its advance will diminish.</p><p>The shadow's greatest strength is perhaps its practicality. Raising the dead provides you with a quick and perfectly expendable reinforcement. Unholy frenzy increases the efficiency of the undead troops, while the Cripple spells grinds the enemy soldiers and saps their strength. The Banshee's curse robs the opponent of their fighting skills, and the protective anti-magic shell protects against their spellcasters' abilities, as the vengeful spirit moves in to possess their mortal bodies and turn their skills against their former comrades. There is no place for inefficient or extraneous spells in the school of shadow, no place for weakness, or compromise.</p><p>There is one more great strength to the Shadow that many foolishly overlook – its unending hunger. The more it consumes – the stronger it grows, but also – the greater its hunger for more becomes. Many have described the dark path as <em>tempting</em>, yet never fully realized how powerful the craving becomes, how the hunger eventually becomes the adept's driving force. And a mighty driving force it is, for it led the ravenous undead legions towards many victories against seemingly stronger foes, and it pushes our spellcasters towards ever-increasing heights of power and mastery. The Scourge hungers and it shall not be deterred for any reason until it is sated. And this will not be accomplished until all of Azeroth is ours!</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Thane Korth'azz</strong>
</p><p>This is the horseman I could find the least information about, probably due to the Dwarves' secretive nature and peculiar culture. He seems to be the oldest among the four. I could dig up some references to him fighting against the Horde during the Second War, defending the lands of Khaz Modan from several very brutal assaults. It is said he did not invoke the Light at the time and relied primarily on the strength of his weapon and his martial skills in order to hold the invaders at bay. He must have joined the paladins at some point after the war.</p><p>Among the items in the Thane's treasure collection was this vellum scroll, carefully preserved within a richly decorated golden scroll case. Clearly, these notes were valuable to him and may give us some insight into his nature. They were written in a highly archaic form of Dwarven script, the kind which can only be found within the depths of Old Ironforge. However, I was in luck – one of the Magisters of Silvermoon had devoted her time to the study of Ulduar's forbidden secrets and was thus able to translate the scroll.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>"<strong>Death's Doorstep"</strong></em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>A collection of dark thoughts</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>By Thane Korth'azz, Death Knight of Naxxramas</strong> </em>
</p><p>Death has always been the one true constant in this world. Kingdoms rise and fall, and so do holy orders, grand armies and wizardly guilds. We overcome one threat only to be swept away by the next one. We defeated the Horde in the Second War, but what does this mean now, when the Scourge rules the Northlands? And still, the mortal worms that inhabit this land keep struggling to hold their place in the world.</p><p>The victory of the Scourge was ensured by the fact that it is not built upon illusions, but rather upon the one true common denominator. Through our death we are cleansed of our meaningless differences and made into an unbreakable whole. The Scourge is the final step, the final answer. It can withstand any new threat that arises – a new Horde, a new Burning Legion, and even the ancient evils that sleep deep beneath the cold earth and await the moment of their rebirth under the sky.</p><p>There was a time when I was misguided by mortal vanity and foolishness. Like the rest of my kin I was mesmerized by our ancient legacy, by the glory of the Light, and the promises of buried treasure. The deeper I dug, however, the more I realized that all those that had come and gone before us had made the same mistake – their clinging to hollow ideals and restraints. The Horde did not have restraint, and it nearly took over the continent. The only thing that impeded them was their mortal weaknesses. My weakness was my devotion to the Light – seemingly a great power, but in truth it was just another narrowed path. Another restraint.</p><p>What little faith I had left was shattered in an instant once the great Uther was slain by Arthas. The almighty Light had failed in an instant, driven into the mud by an upstart and his weak minions. My former brothers reassured me all was not lost, but I was already deaf to their hollow promises. I sought to be rid of my restraints. I sought answers within the pagan lore of ages long forgotten, and I found them soon enough. The flame I wield now is pure, flexible, unfettered by abstractions such as morality or honor. It represents true power.</p><p>Beyond this, there was but one last step to take. To be cleansed of mortal weakness. And so I was. Stepping through Death's Doorstep was my true birth in this world. And now my place in it is secured...</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Final fate</strong>
</p><p>The Four Horsemen were said to have been defeated by mortal heroes, just as many other great threats to this world. And yet they did not find rest, as they were brought back into servitude once Naxxramas was relocated to the Dragonblight in Northrend. They were said to have fallen for the last time, but I am not so certain. History has shown that such powerful undead beings are very hard to destroy permanently, and the chance of their return shall always exist in some form. Only Alexandros Mograine was truly freed from his curse and has possibly found eternal rest...</p><p>Naxxramas as a whole was defeated and its threat – neutralized by mortal heroes. Yet there is no guarantee that some other force of evil won't move in and take over the dormant citadel some day.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>APPENDIX to PART IV</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Brief description of the remainder of Naxxramas</strong>
</p><p>Beside the Military Quarter, the dark floating citadel also had three other. The Arachnid Quarter was the lair of elite Nerubian warriors, as well as the breeding ground for a host of monstrous spiders – the twisted brood of Maexxna, intended as another kind of foot soldiers in the ever-growing armies of the Scourge.</p><p>The Plague Quarter was a noxious place where Alchemists and Necromancers worked on new toxins and pathogens. It was known to have a huge collection of deadly fungi, as well as unnatural fungal creatures, such as Loatheb.</p><p>The Constructs Quarter was a laboratory where the Scourge experimented on building golems of undead flesh and strange machinery – bigger and stronger Abominations, as well as entirely new creatures with previously unseen abilities. It was rumored that great atrocities took place in there.</p><p>At the core of Naxxramas was the Frostwyrm Lair – the inner sanctum of Kel'Thuzad and his seat of power in the Eastern Kingdoms, guarded by the legendary undead dragon Sapphiron, raised by Arthas himself several years prior.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Knights of the Ebon Blade</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong>PART V</strong>
</h3><h4>
  <strong>WAR AGAINST THE LICH KING</strong>
</h4><h4>
  <strong>KNIGHTS OF THE EBON BLADE</strong>
</h4><p> </p><p>As the Lich King sat dormant upon the Frozen Throne, hope still lingered among the mortal races that the Scourge would remain more or less contained within the Plaguelands and would never attempt to launch any large-scale assaults against the world. But then, one fateful day, the Lich King finally awakened...</p><p>The inner struggle within his mind had finally ended. Arthas had overpowered Ner'zhul and now stood as the sole consciousness of the Lich King. More importantly, though, he had inherited much of the former Dark Shaman's knowledge and memories, especially those pertaining to the old generation of Death Knights from the Second War and its aftermath. This new deeper understanding allowed the Lich King to envision the latest and perhaps deadliest generation of Death Knights that has ever walked upon Azeroth.</p><p>Throughout his unnatural sleep, Arthas was still aware of much that was going on in the world. Among the things that caught his attention were the numerous great threats that had arisen in the Eastern Kingdom and Kalimdor – ancient forces that could threaten all of Azeroth, had they not been defeated by mortal heroes who had banded together and fought as a singular force. The simple strength and tenacity of this new generation of mortal heroes seemed to be the key element that had eluded the Lich King in the past. Thus was the idea of the Death Knights of Acherus born in his twisted mind – no mere random recruits, but true heroes, who had fallen in glorious battle and were raised into servitude as the Scourge's newest and strongest weapon of war.</p><p>The risen heroes would retain no memory of their former lives, skills, professions or loyalties, but keep only the most important qualities – their strength, ingenuity and determination. They would live and train in the newly built floating citadel of Acherus, honing their new skills while also maintaining a basic sense of brotherhood among each other. The necropolis was commanded by one of the Lich King's most prized acquisition – Darion Mograine, the son of Alexandros Mograine, who was once among the Four Horsemen of Naxxramas. The new Death Knights were also meant to be more flexible and adaptive than their predecessors, and were therefore divided into three schools, which emphasized the different strengths of their order – Blood, Frost, and Unholy.</p><p>As the new dark brotherhood grew more numerous and powerful, the time for their first test drew close. Arthas chose the heavily-defended Scarlet Enclave to be the first target for the Death Knights of Acherus. Its destruction would prove their worth, while also removing a major obstacle to the Scourge's grip over the Northlands.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>DEATH KNIGHT TRAINING</strong>
</p><p>Once raised into their new service, the Death Knight of Acherus would lose all of their previous memories and skills. They awakened with only a few things in their fevered minds – the basic spells of a Death Knight and undying loyalty towards the Lich King. From this point onward, they had to prove their worth, improve their skills, and obtain better equipment.</p><p>As it was in Naxxramas, the newly risen dark soldier's training began with a visit to Instructor Razuvious...</p><p><strong>1. Forging the Runeblade</strong> – Each Death Knight created his or her own Runeblade on one of the Runeforges of Acherus. Though, in theory, they were all the same, the creator's personality did leave its mark upon the blade, thus giving them a subtle hint of uniqueness. Indeed, a master runesmith could always tell which Runeblade belonged to whom, just by examining it. Any common sword could be used as the starting point of the forging, and many discarded old blades could usually be found stored on racks, though the sorcery of the Runeforge changed all swords to gain a uniform appearance, the only deviation being the personal traits imparted by the creator's raging spirit.</p><p><strong>2. Emblazoning the Runeblade</strong> – Once the Runeblade had been forged and fully capable to serve as a trusted weapon, as well as channel the Runic Power that a Death Knight needed for their spells, it would have to be emblazoned with a potent rune. Death Knight trainees acquired this skill from Instructor Razuvious, and could learn new runes from their trainers further down the road. Each dark warrior was free to choose what runes to use, in accordance with their specific needs.</p><p><strong>3. Feeding the hunger</strong> – Once a Death Knight was ready for combat, they would have to prove their worth. Instructor Razuvious devised a rather cruel, yet efficient, method of separating the wheat from the chaff – a trainee would have to face and slay a failed initiate in single combat. They would either win or join the failed ones...</p><p><strong>4. Death's Challenge</strong> – Death Knights who had completed their training and already proven their worth were expected to engage in ritualistic duels with their brothers and sisters, a tradition inspired of the climactic fight between Arthas and Illidan Stormrage before the former's ascension as the new Lich King. A Death Knight was expected to win 5 such duels before earning the honor of wearing the Scourge Insignia.</p><p><strong>5. Further growth...</strong> – Once the Death Knight had gone through all the rituals of their initiation, they would continue to grow in power and expand their abilities by accomplishing various quests for their dark masters, learning new spells and skills from the trainers, acquiring new and better equipment, and so on. Given enough time and persistence, a Death Knight could grow immensely powerful.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>THE THREE SCHOOLS OF ACHERUS</strong>
</p><p>The combined body of the Death Knight's skills and spells is divided into three distinct schools, each emphasizing a key aspect or strength of the Undead Scourge – Blood, Frost, and Unholy. Each dark warrior would learn skills belonging to all three schools, and yet had to become a disciple of and devote themselves to one of the schools, achieving mastery in its doctrine and specifics, while gaining only a more superficial grasp of the other two.</p><p>This dark knowledge was acquired from the three respective trainers – the Headmasters of the three schools. Though a Death Knight could visit and study from any of the three, it was considered customary to stick with the trainer associated with the Knight's chosen path.</p><p>Herein is a description of the three schools, as I remembered them during my training in Acherus.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>School of BLOOD</strong>
</p><p>Blood is life, and the Undead Scourge exists only to spill it. The pupils of Blood are relentless butchers that revel in the fury of battle. Driven by an intense hate of all life, they are filled with unnatural physical strength, which allows them to cut down even the hardiest of foes. An abominable antithesis of the noble Paladins, these dark warriors follow tenets, which are the exact opposite of the teachings of the Silver Hand, and derive their power from pain, brutality and vengeance. They have the power to absorb blood's life-sustaining powers and add them to their already considerable strength so that they can spill even more blood; all in the name of their school's master, Lord Thorval, whose bitterness and hatred serve as a dark example to his murderous brotherhood...</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Core tenets of Blood</strong>
</p><ul>
<li>The merciless shall prevail</li>
<li>Your enemy's life sustains your own</li>
<li>Blood is fuel, anger is catalyst</li>
<li>Never flinch, never retreat</li>
<li>Do not stop until all foes have fallen</li>
</ul><p>The doctrine of Blood is in many ways a perversion of the Paladins' teachings. In fact, there have been recorded cases when actual holy tomes were stolen from raided abbeys, and the text within was then rewritten to mean its exact opposite, before being used to instruct new initiates of Blood. Not surprisingly, fallen Paladins are (almost) always remade as disciples of this school – a reminder from the Lich King that even the holiest of men can be turned into that, which they fought the hardest.</p><p>From the memoirs of Lord Thorval: "Inferior fighters grow weary and exhausted in battle, but not the followers of Blood. Slaughter and destruction energize us, make us powerful and drive us to ever-increasing feats of strength and endurance. Already formidable and ferocious at the onset of a battle, our disciples become raging whirlwinds of death and destruction towards its climax. Injuries matter not – spilling our enemies' blood sustains us, we drain their life force and use it to recuperate and maintain our advance. Who can stop you when each injury sustained by your foe adds to your own power? Your hatred alone turns you into a deadly weapon, the skills and disciplines you acquire over time can take you above and beyond, making you the most efficient fighter in this wretched world. When you become a lion, all other warriors that face you shall be sheep."</p><p> </p><p><strong>Master of Blood: </strong> <strong>Lord Thorval</strong></p><p>From a devout Paladin to a cold-hearted killer, Lord Thorval seems to be an embodiment of the philosophy of Blood. Betrayed by the ones who were seemingly devoted to the same Light he worshipped, he embraced the very evil he had sworn to vanquish and became one of the Scourge's elite. His unique blend of skills and tragic story made him an obvious choice for the master of the Disciples of Blood. He has been training them since then, while also working on refining the various skills and talents of his school.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Disciples of Blood</strong>
</p><p>Death Knights walking the path of Blood were usually seasoned melee fighters in life – Warriors, Paladins, Rogues, and Monks. Overcome by anger and scorn, they have surrendered to their basest instincts and embraced a new servitude as merciless executioners. As they advance in their training, however, they learn focus, skills and a certain degree of discipline, which makes them even more dangerous. Their greatest weapon is their ability to siphon their enemies' life energy and use it to fuel their rage.</p><p>Their sanctum on the lower level of Acherus is equipped like a slaughterhouse – there the disciples delve into the secrets of anatomy and butchery. Those that wish to impress their dark mentor even attempt to build their own abomination (only to find out that Lord Thorval expects them to fight it to the death afterwards). They also practice their weapon skills, particularly the art of dealing as much damage to their opponent as possible.</p><p>These disciples are easily recognized by the red plate armor they wear. Other minions of the Scourge avoid crossing them, for they are quick to anger and even quicker to retaliate violently when provoked.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Blood armament: </strong> <strong>Two-Handed Weapon</strong></p><p>The followers of Blood favor brute strength and overwhelming blows, and therefore focus their training on large two-handed weapons, usually heavy runeblades. As their abilities increase, Death Knights can also summon the so-called "Dancing rune weapon", adding a second semi-autonomous sword to their already formidable assault.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>School of FROST</strong>
</p><p>Just as warmth is life, cold is death. That is why the Undead Scourge established its powerbase in the coldest place of the world - the Icecrown Glacier, where the presence of death is the strongest and the boundary between this world and the Shadowlands – weakest. The eternal life-devouring cold permeates the fearsome Icecrown Citadel, and it can also fill the pupils of Frost. These Death Knights are infused with the purifying presence of death, which makes them unnaturally resilient to any kind of external damage delivered by a mortal weapon or spell. It also gives them mastery of potent Lich spells, which allow them to freeze and drain their hapless victims of their life's precious warmth. The Lich Amal'thazad, one of the first to be created and the mastermind behind many of his school's spells and powers, holds dominion over the powers of Frost and leads the school, instructing new initiates in the ways of ever-hungry death...</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Core tenets of Frost</strong>
</p><ul>
<li>The Void beyond the sky is eternally cold</li>
<li>All warmth fades in time</li>
<li>The cold saps even the greatest of strengths</li>
<li>The cold exposes your enemy's weakness</li>
<li>The cold extinguishes your own pain</li>
</ul><p>For a long time it was believed that Lich spells could only be wielded safely by the Liches themselves. Reckless magi and warlocks who had tried their luck in this dark art were severely maimed or utterly obliterated by their foolish ambitions. In recent times, however, the Scourge's drive to become ever more powerful and deadlier has borne impressive results. A reformed set of Lich arcana has been developed, which can be wielded by runeblade-equipped champions of the Lich King.</p><p>Lich spellcraft is all about death in its purest forms – cold and decay, intertwined in a subtle yet highly potent blend. Such is the power of this school of magic, that it can only be used safely by undead spellcasters. The refined teachings bestowed upon the Death Knights following the path of Frost are pragmatic and oriented towards two purposes. The first is the infliction of death and pain from a distance, breaking a foe's strength and agility through an onslaught of all-devouring cold. The second is instilling the Death Knight with the essence of cold, which makes them more resilient to damage and pain, allowing them to survive otherwise overwhelming attacks.</p><p>From the icy scrolls of Amal'thazad: "Frost is a lot more than the mere absence of heat, it is a great power in its own right. The living may fight it, yet it eventually overpowers and extinguishes the flame of life, leaving only cold and lifeless flesh in its wake. All the strength our opponents possess is stifled, drained and nullified; bring them down quickly and relentlessly.</p><p>Frost shall fill you, numb your flesh towards pain and make your bones as hard as the walls of the Icecrown Citadel. Common attacks will barely scrape you, blades will shatter against your ice-encased armor, and magical attacks will fizzle before they can truly harm you. When your enemies' power is exhausted, they become easy prey for your blades.</p><p>Embrace this power, become one of the Lich King's deadliest harbingers on the field of battle!"</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Master of Frost: Amal'thazad</strong>
</p><p>One of the first Liches to be formed, Amal'thazad used to be one of Ner'zhul's greatest followers, highly versed in all matters arcane, including theoretical magic and death worship. He has devoted his time to the improvement and refinement of his arcane art, rather than actual combat. His contributions to the dark arts, particularly spell adaptations intended for non-Lich users, made him the obvious choice for the master of the school of Frost. He continues his work, unraveling even more potent spells to be used by his disciples.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Disciples of Frost</strong>
</p><p>The students of Frost are usually drawn from the ranks of scholars and spellcasters – Magi, Priests, Warlocks. These sharp and calculating minds have been twisted to channel a form of spellcraft mortals were never meant to wield. They are known for being very cold and detached. They care little for the suffering of others – it is but a minor detail, just another bit of data for their research. The death of their victims is merely an inconvenience, but a necessary one.</p><p>This lack of emotion fortifies them against physical pain or bodily damage, giving them unnatural resilience and ability to withstand blows that would quickly break the will of a mortal warrior. They march into battle almost with indifference, sap the strength of their foes with fearsome cold spells, then finish them off precisely and methodically.</p><p>The sanctum of Frost within Acherus closely resembles a Lich's secret meditation chamber, complete with an unnatural chill hanging in their air, and Amal'thazad himself standing in the center, instructing his minions in the ways of Frost spellcraft and fighting with the utmost precision.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Frost armament: </strong> <strong>Duel-Wielded Weapons</strong></p><p>The school of Frost emphasizes cold logic and efficiency over the mindless butchery of Blood or sadistic cruelty of Unholy. Two swords are better than one, they allow for more precise control over the pacing and flow of combat. They allow a Disciple of Frost to maintain their balance, while making the enemy lose theirs. With enough training, some of their spells and diseases can be channeled through both blades, dealing double the damage.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>School of UNHOLY</strong>
</p><p>Necromancy was the foundation of the Undead Scourge, and it was also the gift bestowed upon the first Death Knights raised by Gul'dan. The most vile and powerful of these dark riders were the black horsemen – the ones led into battle by Teron Gorefiend and serving the Shadowmoon Clan, under the command of Ner'zhul himself. He preserved the archives of their extensive knowledge of Necromancy and used it as the basis for the Unholy school of the new generation of Death Knights. The cruel Lady Alistra, raised into the Lich King's service during the invasion of Quel'Thalas, reformed these teachings to make them more refined and suitable for Runeblade-wielding warriors. Now her pupils wield unnatural flesh-dissolving diseases and have the power to blacken and corrupt anything they touch, bringing down their enemies slowly and painfully, only to raise them as mindless undead servitors afterwards...</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Core tenets of Unholy</strong>
</p><ul>
<li>Anything and anyone can, and shall, be corrupted</li>
<li>Even the purest ones have a darker side</li>
<li>Disease always finds a way in</li>
<li>Light is transient, darkness – eternal</li>
<li>Life always fails in the end</li>
</ul><p>Unholy is the school that can truly claim to be the heir of the Old Horde's necromantic traditions, which encompass the Necrolytes of the First War and the original Death Knights of the Second War. Its doctrine and spell library are older than the Scourge itself. It is rightfully respected by the other minions of the Lich King and dreaded by its enemies.</p><p>The combination of fighting prowess and necromantic spellcraft is a potent one, and the followers of Unholy seek a fine balance between the two. They do not rely on brute strength and charging into battle, but prefer more insidious and subtle means to defeat their enemies. Vile diseases steadily erode the opponent's life and strength, while an undead minion swoops in to distract and wear them down even more. Many of Unholy's abilities are enhanced when used against diseased targets, and they often rely upon the infliction of shadow damage. The powers these warriors wield grant them unnatural speed and the ability to use their abilities with frightening haste.</p><p>From the black tome of Lady Alistra: "Let the simple-minded oafs hack away with their swords and axes – we merely have to unleash our most potent contagions and watch our foes wither like dry grass in a wildfire. And even if some of them survive, they will be weakened enough to finish off momentarily.</p><p>Do not underestimate your Ghoul minion – it is more than just a distraction for the enemy. It is a tool; an extra pair of hands. It is your faithful shadow and the power to reach foes who foolishly thought they were a safe distance away. Exert your control over it, and make good use of its innate abilities. A mastery over the usage of your minion is what distinguishes a true student of the Unholy from our more brutish brothers and sisters. It is the reason why those of our school are granted positions of high power within the Scourge more often than those belonging to the other two."</p><p> </p><p><strong>Master of the Unholy: </strong> <strong>Lady Alistra</strong></p><p>As a veteran Ranger of Silvermoon, Lady Alistra once fought to defend Quel'Thalas and all living within its serene forests. She witnessed first-hand the destruction visited upon her home by the savage Horde during the Second War and became disillusioned with her duty as a warden of the Elven kingdom. Over time, she developed a morbid fascination with the Horde's brutal ways, especially the dark powers wielded by their spellcasters. While the spells wielded by the Ogre-Magi were fearsome, they were a pretty crude and primal form of spellcraft. The Death Knights were what truly captivated her, as the dark arts of necromancy were strictly forbidden among both the Magisters of Quel'Thalas and the Magi of Dalaran. She would often wander off on solo expeditions, looking for forbidden knowledge and artifacts, until one day she found her way to Grim Batol and came across an abandoned, yet mostly intact, Temple of the Damned from the Second War, wherein she found the forbidden fruit she had craved for so long. She kept these studies a secret and had hoped to delve even further into them, until the Scourge invaded Quel'Thalas. Alistra's whole squad was wiped out by advancing waves of Ghouls and Crypt Fiends, and she was raised into the Lich King's service. He recognized the knowledge she possessed and put her in charge of adapting the old necromantic disciplines into spells and skills more suitable for runeblade-wielding warriors. Having joined the crew of the Acherus, she now imparts this profane knowledge onto her followers as well...</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Disciples of Unholy</strong>
</p><p>The vile students of the Unholy are usually former protectors of the world, the wilderness and the living creatures that inhabit it – Hunters, Druids and Shamans. The Lich King opened their eyes and showed them how foolish and futile it was to defend a world that is unworthy of survival. They now crave only one thing – to corrupt and infect Azeroth, until it is purged of the sickness known as <em>life</em>.</p><p>These Disciples are highly manipulative and insidious individuals who see everything and everyone as tools to achieve their own ends. Whatever compassion or devotion they may have felt in life has been completely replaced by all-consuming cynicism and a morbid curiosity to delve into studies that would be considered appalling by any sentient being. The most feared ability of the Disciples of Unholy is their ability to raise and control permanent undead minions. One should think twice before facing one of these dark warriors in battle, for they will most likely face not one, but two vicious foes at the same time. The virulent diseases they can unleash can further shake the resolve of even the most determined opponent.</p><p>Their sanctum within Acherus is arranged like a laboratory where they can experiment with toxins and contagions, while also working on various grafts and other enhancements for their undead minions.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Unholy armament: </strong> <strong>Two-Handed Weapon &amp; Undead Minion</strong></p><p>Unholy Death Knights view melee combat as crude and unbefitting of the dark powers they wield, preferring to assault their enemies with spells and diseases. However, a runeblade has proven to be the most efficient and fastest focus to convey these spells and afflictions, and a melee fighter-spellcaster can generally achieve more than the fearsome but fragile Death Knights of the Second War. Therefore, they train in the use of the two-handed runeblade, which is favored by the Lich King himself.</p><p>The truly unique aspect of the Unholy fighting style, however, is their use of an undead minion. More than just a mindless meat shield or a distraction for the enemy, their risen Ghoul is a tool used with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel. It serves as an additional fighting arm, an extension of the Unholy Death Knight's body. As the Death Knight gains more power, they can augment their Ghoul with additional abilities, making it even deadlier.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>DEATH KNIGHT EQUIPMENT</strong>
</p><p>Newly inducted Death Knights are stripped of all their mortal possessions, to further sever any connection they may have with their former lives. As they awaken for service aboard Acherus, they are provided only the most basic starting gear and need to acquire anything else they need over the course of their training and during their service to the Lich King.</p><p><strong>Runeblade</strong> – Any of the numerous discarded old swords found near the Runeforges of Acherus can become a fearsome new weapon once subjected to the forge's power. The forging process is somewhat affected by the personality of the Death Knight, thus imparting a certain amount of subtle personal traits to the finished blade. The weapon is then customized through the process of emblazoning. The Runeblade is essential to its owner, as it serves as a focus and conduit for their powers.</p><p><strong>Armor</strong> – Newly inducted Death Knights are given a basic, yet pretty decent set of armor for the duration of their training and first assignments. It looks quite drab, reflecting the fact they are still learning and proving their worth. As the dark soldiers achieve victories, they will gradually receive new and better pieces of armor, replacing their old suit.</p><p><strong>Acherus Deathcharger</strong> – Death Knights have always ridden upon undead stallions in the past, and the tradition was preserved, yet vastly improved. The Acherus Deathcharger is no mere undead horse – living steeds are stolen and then taken into the Shadow Realm by one of Salanar's minions. Being slain and raised in that twisted dimension turns the former horses into mighty unholy monstrosities. They are faster and stronger than any ordinary horse, and also than any undead steed used by the previous generations of Death Knights. Once a dark warriors has bonded with his or her mount, they can summon it at will, regardless of whether they may be.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>DEATH KNIGHT SPELLS &amp; ABILITIES</strong>
</p><p>As research continues, the Death Knight's array of spells continues to grow and evolve. Therefore, I will limit myself with an overview of their most significant skills, as they were taught to us during our service under the Lich King.</p><p>Death Knight spellcasting is based on two components – Runes and Runic Power. Each dark warrior commands six runes – two of each type (Blood, Frost, Unholy). A rune (or a combination of runes) is consumed every time an ability bound to the Runeblade is used, and they need a little time to reactivate and become available for use again. Consuming runes, however, releases a specific kind of energy, Runic Power, which accumulates within the Death Knight and is used to fuel their more spell-like abilities. This power dissipates in time and should be used quickly or be wasted.</p><p><strong>Death Grip –</strong> A rather unique spell that allows even the lowliest of Death Knight initiates to draw upon the power that binds matter and form a "snare" of shadow energy that grabs their opponents and brings them within the Runeblade's reach. It is useful to stop fleeing enemies, or quickly engage priority targets.</p><p><strong>Icy Touch –</strong> The most basic conversion of a Frost rune, this spell blasts the target with deathly cold and infects them with Frost Fever. By following the school of Frost, the Death Knight can augment this spell with additional malignant effects, such as chilling the opponent, slowing down their movements.</p><p><strong>Plague Strike</strong> – The most basic conversion of an Unholy rune, it infuses a weapon strike with festering disease, causing its targets to be affected by shadow damage and become infected with Blood Plague. This seemingly weak attack can be augmented by the followers of Unholy.</p><p><strong>Blood Strike –</strong> The most basic conversion of a Blood rune is a simple vicious strike at an enemy. It may seem mundane, but it is charged with the raw power of a Blood rune, which is known to resonate with any diseases already afflicting the target. Therefore, this is an attack that the Death Knight should use after making sure their opponent is infected, in order to reap the maximum benefit from it.</p><p><strong>Death Coil</strong> – Yet another refinement of this old spell, this time its formula was altered to make sure the spell could be fueled by Runic Power (rather than mana, as its previous incarnations were). Its effect remained the same – damaging to living, revitalizing to the allied undead. Death Knights of all three schools could discover further ways to augment this spell and make it even more useful in battle. Since Runic Power is generated through the consumption of Runes, most dark warriors would use this spell only after they have landed several hits with their melee-based abilities.</p><p><strong>Death Gate –</strong> Initially reserved to high-ranking officers within the Death Knight order, this spell was made available to all brothers and sisters after breaking free from the Lich King's grasp. It is a non-combat spell that summons a magical portal back to the order's headquarters, Acherus. These gates can only be used by Death Knights – either their creator or party members. Heroes of other classes cannot pass through them (and it is rumored that trying to force one's way through has rather deadly consequences).</p><p><strong>Raise Dead</strong> – One of the most potent spells in the Death Knight's arsenal, it raises a Ghoul minion from a dead body or a suitable substitute (bone dust has proven to be the best such substance). This minion cannot be directly controlled and persists for a certain amount of time, except in the case of the devotees of the School of Unholy, who are able to raise permanent minions and exert more delicate control over them.</p><p> </p><p>"<strong>FINAL" FATE?</strong></p><p>The tale of our liberation from the Lich King's control was as epic as it was sorrowful. Many good warriors, from both sides, fell on that fateful day when we charged Light's Hope Chapel. I cannot bear to recount the whole story, but the most important outcomes from it were that we regained our free will, broke away from the Undead Scourge, and joined the war against our former master – the Lich King. We would not have survived for long without Acherus, as it had become much more than a mere headquarters – it was an essential support mechanism for our training and equipment. Therefore, we had to wrestle the control over it from the Scourge, and our desperation gave us the strength to do so. From this point onward, we became known as the Knights of the Ebon Blade and the new sole purpose of our existence was to exact our revenge upon Arthas.</p><p>The campaign in Northrend was long, difficult, and fraught with unforeseen dangers and treachery. But in the end, we prevailed. The might of the mortal heroes of Azeroth was enough to shatter the Lich King's dark kingdom and eventually overthrow his rule as well. And now we are finally free... Free to carve our own path and define our own destiny in this world.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>APPENDIX to PART V</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>A brief description of Acherus and its crew</strong>
</p><p>Acherus is one of the newer flying necropoleis of the Scourge, designed and built by the venerated Obrahiim the Traveler, who had also previous worked on Naxxramas. It is estimated to be the most powerful of its kind, easily capable of defeating any other Necropolis in a direct engagement (even Naxxramas itself). Indeed, the out shell of Acherus is sturdier than anything else previously built by the Undead, and it has a number of long- and short-range defenses that are not readily apparent, and yet are quite deadly.</p><p>Internally, it is divided into two main floors, though rumors persist of hidden chambers no one has discovered yet.</p><p><strong>The Hall of Command</strong> – The lower floor of Acherus is its main control center. The outer perimeter corridor has four points, with one of them serving as the landing platform for skeletal gryphons and other flying creatures, while the other three are the sanctums of the three schools – Frost, Blood, and Unholy (going clockwise from the landing area). The central hub is where the current Commander of the necropolis resides, standing within the circle of power in order to issue commands telepathically.</p><p><strong>The Heart of Acherus</strong> – The upper floor of Acherus is the home of the Death Knights, containing their training arena, resting areas, the Runeforges, and the various vendors. Above it are several hollow chambers that are normally used as aviaries for Gargoyles, yet are sometimes occupied by dark warriors who seek solitude. It also features a balcony, situated right above the lower floor's landing platform.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>The Crew of Acherus</strong>
</p><p><strong>Siouxsie the Banshee</strong> – Night Elf Death Knight, a former trainer of initiates during the early stages of the order's formation. Currently stationed near the landing platform on the lower floor, and serves as a tactician and advisor to Darion Mograine. Usually in a pretty bad mood.</p><p><strong>Square Edwards</strong> – Siouxsie's wight minion, origins unknown. He is a sniveling little wretch, best avoided.</p><p><strong>Corpulous</strong> – An Abomination, serving as the "cook" of the improvised mess hall in the Heart of Acherus, though it took a lot of imagination to consider the products of his art "food." Still, he seems to have improved quite a bit since our liberation and now offers pretty decent wares.</p><p><strong>Fester</strong> – A Ghoul inhabiting the Heart of Acherus. Offers an assortment of tools and wares for those that might need them.</p><p><strong>Gangrenus</strong> – A zombie inhabiting the Heart of Acherus. Offers an assortment of materials and wares for those that might need them.</p><p><strong>Alchemist Karloff</strong> – An Undead human inhabiting the Heart of Acherus. Often dabbles in potions and salves, but his most valuable service is the making and selling of corpse dust – a potent substitute material used by Death Knights to raise their Ghoul minions, especially the followers of the path of Unholy.</p><p><strong>Master Siegesmith Corvus</strong> – A skeletal blacksmith tending his forge in the Heart of Acherus. Offers some basic wares, as well as repair services.</p><p><strong>Dread Commander Thalanor</strong> – An Undead High Elf stationed at the landing platform. He commands Acherus's air forces, as well as any inbound and outbound flights. May sell skeletal gryphons to Death Knights he deems worthy enough.</p><p><strong>Quartermaster Ozorg</strong> – A very recent addition to the crew, an Abomination in the Heart of Acherus that collects and sells Death Knight initiate equipment from the time before our liberation.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Death Knight Offshoots & Epilogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h3>
  <strong>PART VI</strong>
</h3>
<h4>
  <strong>DEATH KNIGHT OFFSHOOTS</strong>
</h4>
<p>Throughout my travels across Azeroth I have heard of other groups of undead dark warriors who bore some similarities to Death Knights, and yet did not quite deserve this name for various reasons. This is a brief description what I was able to find out.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <strong>Deathlords</strong>
</p>
<p>Now this is a very strange tale. Former Paladins who betrayed the Light and gave in to their darker impulses, turning against the innocent and committing heinous atrocities throughout Lordaeron during its final days – sounds just like the Death Knights of the Third War, except that they became something else. They are known as Deathlords and few have ever encountered them, with even fewer living long enough to recount such a story.</p>
<p>Deathlords are undead, for certain, yet unlike anything we have ever seen before. Whatever vague descriptions I was able to recover picture them like something more similar to Revenants – semi-spectral, highly volatile, exuding a strong dark aura, and not under the control of any higher being (not even the Lich King himself). They allegedly possessed both great physical strength and the ability to cast deadly spells from several different schools of magic. Facing such a foe alone was beyond foolish.</p>
<p>A member of the Horde who had definitely encountered at least two Deathlords and defeated them in battle was the half-breed known as Rexxar. Alas, he is a very nomadic creature and is hard to track down. And even if I could find him, I doubt he can help me much – he is more of a brute than a scholar. The unconfirmed information I was able to find suggests that he faced two varieties of Deathlord – a weaker one on the Echo Isles that seemed to draw its power from the sea and the Deeplord Revenants inhabiting the coast, and a considerable deadlier variety somewhere along the coast of Dustwallow Marsh, known as the Eldritch Deathlord – a monstrosity of such raw power that even Rexxar and his brutish companions barely survived the fight. It is curious that these creatures seem to favor ocean shores. Could it be that their transformation has something to do with the seas, or perhaps the dark powers that dwell deep beneath the waves?</p>
<p>The Magisters of Silvermoon were, thankfully, able to examine two artifacts recovered from such creatures. From the weaker variety Rexxar plundered a helmet, reforged by an unknown force to resemble a crown. It could empower its wearer physically and spiritually, while also allowing them to cast bolts of "pain" – the Magisters guess that this is some kind of shadow or fel magic. The Eldritch Deathlord carried a mighty shield, which could also empower its user, while also engulfing them in searing flames that would burn anyone foolish enough to get within melee range. This magical effect sounds somewhat similar to a spell employed by the Night Elf Demon Hunters.</p><hr/>
<p>
  <strong>The Host of Suffering</strong>
</p>
<p>Orbaz Bloodbane, a coward of the lowliest order, escaped from the battle of Light's Hope chapel before its tragic conclusion and remained loyal to the Lich King. He somehow managed to crawl back to Icecrown and beg for forgiveness from his master. Not only was he forgiven for his spinelessness, but he was also given command over a new cadre of "Death Knights" that were to replace the children of Acherus – the Host of Suffering.</p>
<p>I do not consider these dark soldiers to be true Death Knights as they lacked all of the fine skills and discipline which made us the fighting force that could crush the Scarlet Enclave, and later on many other threats throughout Azeroth and Outland. The Host of Suffering was a ragtag band of warriors that wielded shadowy powers, and were unswervingly loyal to Arthas, and yet lacked the true spirit of Death Knights. They even had the three schools of Blood, Frost, and Unholy, yet their headmasters (whose names are not worth mentioning here) had a rather shallow understanding of their doctrine and abilities.</p>
<p>The only aspect in which the Host of Suffering could compete with us was their headquarters – the long-rumored Malykriss, the Vile Hold – a new kind of necropolis wrought entirely of Saronite – the dark metal mined from the deepest reaches of Northrend, and used for the construction of the Icecrown Citadel and many of the Scourge's greatest weapons. Had Malykriss been completed, it could have been unstoppable, and not even Acherus would have stood a chance against its might. Thankfully, with some help from mortal heroes, we were able to sabotage its construction and ultimately defeat the Host of Suffering, slaying Orbaz Bloodbane before he could escape again.</p>
<p>It is touching, on some level, that the Lich King considered us, the Knights of Acherus, valuable enough to replace with a very similar order, and yet the substitute was quite lacking and could not really compare to us. Now they are just another closed chapter in the story of our struggle against our former master.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>
  <strong>PART VII</strong>
</h3>
<h4>
  <strong>THE FUTURE</strong>
</h4>
<p>So here we are, honored reader, at the end of this humble tome. You saw laid down before you the complete sequence of events that led to our existence and all the tragic events that surrounded it – from the long-forgotten death priests of Draenor, through the unholy riders of the Old Horde, all the way to the present, where we ponder our newfound freedom.</p>
<p>Did you learn something useful? Just as this tome can help you understand us better, so can you, through your reflections, help us understand ourselves as well. Are we heroes, villains, or victims? I leave the answers to these questions up to you.</p>
<p>Where do we go from here? What will happen to us in the future? Will the peoples of Azeroth ever truly accept us among them? Only time can tell... but one thing is certain – there will always be a need for heroes in this world and beyond, as evil never sleeps.</p>
<p>But then again, neither do we...</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>-THE END-</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>It's still hard to believe this is finished – it dragged on for at least 5 years due to all kinds of reasons, too numerous to list here. And I know it took 5 years because the earliest known version of this fan fic, a DOC file I found on my old laptop, was created in January 2015. If you're curious, the first part of this work that was written was Alexandros Mograine's speech and Sir Zeliek's corrupted prayer book scribblings. That's what that old file contains. At that time I did not yet have a clear vision what exactly I wanted to write, what I was aiming for. Back then I thought to focus only on the Death Knights of WoW, but my love for Blizzard's older games and lore prompted me to include some material about the original Death Knights of the Second War (one of the most feared units while playing Warcraft II). Eventually, I decided to go big and encompass the entirety of the Warcraft series, which led to the creation of the Necrolyte chapter...</p>
<p>Could I do something similar again? Perhaps. Warlocks could be a good choice of topic, since they have been a part of the series, in one way or another, from its very beginning in 1994. Besides, "darker" characters are always more interesting to explore, so Rogues are a possibility as well. Or spellcasters in general (maybe except for Druids, I've never had much love for playing this class, to be honest). Other types of Warcraft fan fics are a possibility as well, possibly focused on older events (e.g. the Second War).</p>
<p>Well, I hope you enjoyed this journey through more than fifteen years of accumulated Warcraft lore. I did enjoy writing it, even if it seemed endless at times. Thank you, and see you next time... whenever it may be.</p>
<p>L. Ivanov, April 20, 2020, 21:51 (local time)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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